


Storms and Cornflowers

by thespinningmeanie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hades/Persephone AU, kind of, mythology AU, no one asked for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-04-22 19:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14315556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thespinningmeanie/pseuds/thespinningmeanie
Summary: Rumplestiltskin's life has been a storm then he met her - the little goddess of spring.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Spinner. Dealmaker. Monster. Beast. Dark One.

These are some of the names that mortals have used to refer to him. Over the years his reputation had changed from a god who dwelt in the dark to an imp who dealt for babies.

Among all the gods he was the unwanted one. It might have something to do with his appearance - scales, yellow teeth, big eyes. Not human. Not unlike the others whose resemblance was closer to the mortals who worshipped them. He did not require the mortals to be devoted to him, did not ask them to build him temples, but he would have liked their respect rather than their repulsion.

He became the scary legend that mothers tell their children at night. His deals, well, they benefited both parties but mostly the ones he dealt with. He never asked for a price that the other party cannot pay. The babies he dealt for were given to families who could not  have a child, he made sure that they were all well provided for.

This life was far better than the one he had lived when his father was alive. His father, a lesser titan, hated him for what he was - small and scrawny. He did not inherit any characteristics of a titan from his father rather he is a spitting image of his mother - which made his father loathe him more. His father had wanted nothing to do with him so he sold Rumplestiltskin off to Kronos.

The titan ruler didn’t want him around so he was banished to Crete - an island that only nymphs inhabited.

The ancient nymphs there took care of him, fed and sheltered him. He considered them as his aunts.

A year had passed when he saw the Queen titan being smuggled on the island. His aunts helped her give birth to a son. Before the queen left she asked him to guide her little one and protect him.

The boy - Charming as he’d grown accustomed to calling him after a snow nymph bestowed that nickname to him - had somewhat looked up to him as a brother. Although Rumplestiltskin did everything to dissuade him of the thought, nothing ever worked.

They were at peace until Kronos came there to interrogate the nymphs. Their answers did not satisfy him so he made Rumplestiltskin watch as he crushed the bones of his aunts.

He was outraged by that. He fought the titan by himself, buying the other dwellers of the island a little time to escape. Unfortunately for him he ended up being eaten - or so he let them think.

There were several others that the titan ate. Charming the youngest of Kronos’ children sliced open his belly to free his siblings. Rumplestiltskin then helped fight with the gods for revenge against the offenses the titan has committed.

They won the battle, the only casualty was his ruined ankle. He could fix it but he was not yet strong enough to summon enough magic to mend it.

From a fallen tree he fashioned an ebony cane with a gold handle to help him walk as he recovered his strength. He helped the young gods rebuild their home from ruins. They thought of him as another half sibling - simply because Kronos had eaten him as well.

He disclosed the fact - only to Charming that the titan ate the Omphalos stones he put in his place. Unknowingly admitting that he helped Charming fight behind the scenes - which he painstakingly pointed out as just simply manipulating the pieces on a board. Unfortunately, Charming told that to the snow nymph who did not know the meaning of secrecy!

Of course, Charming didn’t believe his manipulations but the others did. They didn’t trust him, only pretended to like his presence - well he was used to that.

The place they built for themselves was glorious and the time to choose their dwelling place had come.

He pulled the short straw and his so called brothers gave him the underworld to rule over. He was content with it. The mortals feared him, called him a monster, a beast. The one who stole life from them. The one who separated loved ones from their families. They should have known that he only managed the underworld. He’s not the one who fetches the souls on their way to the afterlife - his ferryman took care of that. His duty was to make sure that the passing between the living and the dead ran smoothly.

Even if his existence has become mundane he still felt like he was living in a storm. There was no constant in his life. Only change. Change of who will be with him until he’s left alone again. From his father who sold him, then to his adopted aunts who took him in - who treated him like he was their own child. He thought he would die inside a titan’s stomach but that assumption changed as well. Kronos lies in Tartarus just beneath the Underworld and he would be prepared once the titan had begun  stirring in his sleep.

That was his life until - until _her._

He first saw her when she ventured in his meadow. There were no flowers of spring there. Only weeds grew - what would they think if he started growing flowers, he had a reputation to maintain after all.

There was nothing beautiful here to attract the eyes of anyone and yet here she was. The picture of innocence in the meadow of the beast, without a care in the world. She did something that surprised him - her hands caressed the weeds gently as if afraid that her touch would make them wilt. However, when she touched them they transformed into cornflowers although their shade was nothing compared to the blue of her eyes.

He kept the cornflowers.

He lurked in the shadows and watched her play. He knew that he would not be welcome but it seemed that he was a moth and that girl was the light.

He cast a spell over the meadow, hiding it from plain sight all except for him and the brave girl.

The girl visited his meadow almost everyday and on those days he was always present - he would never admit that he had waited for her to return and how his heart fluttered at the sight of her.

 _Fool_ , he called himself. _You don’t even know her name_. Nevertheless, he began leaving gifts for her to find. A flower crown - made of the flowers that she had grown in his meadow, a woven bracelet - threads of gold he had spun himself. Anything that he could give and hoped she would find worthy for her to have.

She accepted all of them. He heard her sigh happily, saw her beam and attempted to look for another presence in the meadow. She couldn’t find him and that brought a frown to her face but by the end of her visit she would still smile and thank him for the presents he left for her to find.

It was near the middle of the year when she was finally introduced formally to the court. Being the ruler of the underworld he was required to attend. The gods gave her a warm welcome - he nodded stiffly in her direction and she beamed at him. Charming explained her role as the goddess of spring and went on to explain the territories of each god - he gulped as Charming mentioned his meadow. He watched her closely but her face did not reveal any emotion save for the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

He was about to leave when he found himself face to face with the little goddess.

“Dark One.” She greeted then extended her hand to him. “My name is Belle.”

_Ah. Beauty. Her name fitted her. Beauty inside and out unlike the proclaimed goddess of love Aphrodite._

He felt brave for the first time in centuries so that instead of shaking her proffered hand he took it in his and bestowed a kiss upon it.

“Rumplestiltskin.”

Belle’s smile grew wider as she squeezed his hand. “Thank you for letting me visit your meadow. I should’ve asked for permission first but it has always slipped my mind.”

“You are welcome to visit it anytime you want, little goddess. In fact, I should be the one thanking you. You, my dear, brought light and life to it.”

They talked and Belle even coerced him into dancing with her. Many gods had tried and failed to ask for her favour to dance but Belle refused to let go of him and who was he to deny her?

The thin line of his mouth curved upwards as she recounted her adventures to him. He didn’t notice that he was smiling at her, not even when his cheeks hurt from being stretched too much.

Soon, the celebration was over and Belle promised to visit his meadow as soon as possible. It made him happy that she still wanted to visit - he smacked himself though realising it was only the meadow she wanted to visit. _Not you, you fool._

“Rumple, what is it? I’ve been calling you three times now?” she queried.

“Nothing, dearie. Of course you’re welcome to visit.”

Belle looked at him expectantly then she sighed softly. “I want you to be with me on my next visit.”

_W-what? She wanted to spend her time with him - a monster?_

A frown marred Belle’s face. “I-it’s alright if you don’t - “

“Yes.” He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I’ll wait for you to arrive and spend the afternoon with you, Belle.”

The little goddess was full of surprises. She hugged him tightly and it took him a moment to respond.

“I’ll see you soon, Rumple!” Belle gushed before she heeded to her father’s ceaseless calling.

In all the centuries he had lived, this was the happiest he had been. “Yes. Soon.”

  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before they’ve parted Belle has promised Rumple that she would visit his meadow again and have asked him to accompany her instead of just lingering in the shadows.

Weeks had passed since the new goddess of spring had been formally introduced to the court. In those days Rumplestiltskin has patiently and anxiously waited for Belle to grace his meadow again as she had promised before they parted.

There were many things that Rumplestiltskin had assumed in his long life. There was rarely a time when he was proven wrong. When Belle asked for his company on her next visit his heart soared but as the days passed and still there’s no Belle he assumed she only said it as a courtesy to him. He doubted very much that the sweet little goddess had enjoyed his company and had admitted to himself that he would rather admire her from afar than make a fool of himself. 

Nevertheless, he would still spend an hour in the meadow, hidden in the shadows, waiting for the little goddess to arrive. 

Rumplestiltskin missed her, he would never admit to anyone that he had gotten used to her presence. When he told her that she had brought light and life to his meadow, for him it meant that she had done the same to his own being as well.  

With a dejected sigh he left the meadow and teleported himself to his castle in the underworld. If only he stayed a while he would have noticed the cornflowers that had begun blossoming where he once stood.

He spent the day overseeing the souls as they passed through the River Styx, he even let Cerberus lounge in the great hall - he transformed the three-headed hound to a much smaller form so he could fit inside. 

He was sitting on his throne in the great hall when he became aware of the flowers. The flowers - an iris, a fleur-de-lis, and a pink rose - appearing in the same order again and again. Soon it covered his chair and his temper flared.

“Jefferson!” His roar echoed loudly in the great hall disturbing Cerberus from his sleep.

“I am not in the mood to - “He was just about to march his way out of the great hall when he almost ran into her.

“B-Belle.” He perplexed, heart thumping loudly in his chest.

He feared he was hallucinating her again but he had never had a vision of her in his castle so she might be real and he desperately wished for it to be true.

He lifted his hand and when it rested on her arm her warmth seeped through him as he squeezed his hand gently.

“Y-you’re real.” He whispered, wonder colored his tone, his eyes shone bright.

Belle nodded, her eyes bluer than the cornflowers that now filled the great hall. 

“Rumple.” She sighed his name softly then stepped closer to him.

She put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. This time he did not hesitate to return her embrace. One hand rested at the small of her back and the other found its way into her chestnut curls.

They stayed that way for a while, neither willing to part until they heard someone cough.

They both turned their heads to where the sound was coming from. There stood his obnoxious ferryman Jefferson, who was grinning like a cat.

“Well, it looks like you found your way to him without my help.” Jefferson remarked, his grin grew and it was a miracle that his face hadn’t split in two yet.

“You two continue what you’re doing.” He chided, his hands shooing them. “I just came to get Cerberus.”

True to his word he whistled for Cerberus to follow him out and left them in peace.

It didn’t occur to Rumple that he was still clinging to Belle until her hands moved from his waist to his chest. 

He thought she was pushing him away so he immediately disentangled himself from her only for Belle to stop him from doing so by holding on to the lapels of his coat. His hesitant hands came to rest at her waist.

When he looked down at her he found her staring back at him. “I’ve missed you, Rumple.”

His eyes widened at her statement - no one has ever missed him before except for his aunts. The feeling was wholly new to him and it made his insides tingle, like the fluttering of butterflies.

Her eyes broke their gaze at his and darted to the side. He realized that he must’ve been staring at her for so long and Belle might’ve concluded his silence as indifference. He gently tilted her chin up so he could look again in her eyes and gave her a lopsided grin.

“Aye. I’ve missed you as well, my darling Belle.” Her eyes lit up and Rumplestiltskin did not bother to think if it was his confession of missing her as well or his endearment that made her smile. 

When they managed to let go of each other they moved from the great hall to the library where Rumplestiltskin poofed up - Belle called it that - some biscuits and ambrosia for them to partake in then proceeded to make tea by hand.

“The tea is lovely, Rumple.”

The very moment they stepped inside the library Belle’s attention was divided, but she never took her hand from his and he hoped his next words would make her happy.

“It’s yours.” Belle inclined her head, regarding him curiously then he cleared his throat.

“You’ve mentioned it to me before that you love books.” His hands fidgeted as he continued. “Y-you can come here to rest if you get tired from playing in the meadow.”

His hands continued their fidgeting and he dared to look at Belle who was now in front of him instead of sitting on the chaise longue far away from him.

_ W-Why is she so close to me?  _

_ It’s becoming a habit of hers to surprise me with her willingness to share the same space. _

Belle took hold of his hands, making him forget what he was thinking of, then planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, Rumple.” She led him towards the chaise longue and sat closely beside him. 

She began recounting her recent adventures to him as the new goddess of spring. 

“Papa kept a close eye on me. There were many times I was headed to our meadow when he would send someone to intercept me.” His heart soared when she referred to the meadow as theirs.

“Who has intercepted you, Belle?” 

Belle’s face scrunched up and even in her annoyance Rumplestiltskin found her lovely. “It was always Gaston. Papa seemed to favor him, often calling him the son he never had.” Ah, the minor god who followed Ares around like a pup.

“How about this, my Belle,” His tongue slipped again. Fortunately, Belle didn’t take notice of it. “You tell me when you’re planning to visit so we can meet at a different place, I would escort you from there and they won’t know that you intended to go here.” 

“That’s a wonderful idea, Rumple.” He wondered why her face was flushed but before he had the chance to ask her,  Belle planted a fleeting kiss on the corner of his lips and her blush increased tenfold. 

Rumplestiltskin was left speechless from Belle’s actions. While Belle burrowed closer to him and her head rested on his shoulder, letting the comfortable silence surround them. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
